


Girl Meets The Knicks

by Monica_Rambeau



Series: Rilaya-verse [6]
Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: Episode: s03e25, F/F, F/M, Family Feels, Fluff and Angst, Rilaya, also basketball, but no actual sidecars, gmw, mention of sidecars, smarkle - Freeform, smarkle is endgame forever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-03
Updated: 2017-08-03
Packaged: 2018-12-10 13:12:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11692347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Monica_Rambeau/pseuds/Monica_Rambeau
Summary: Next, on an all-new Girl Meets World:Is it better to push your feelings down or let them take over your mind? Maya and Farkle realize that neither is as easy as it seems.(or: Jealously rears it's ugly head in the Rilaya-verse!)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all! Thought I'd try another story in the episode format. Let me know how it holds up!
> 
> Takes place in my Rilaya-verse, post Girl Meets 'It.'

The last lingering light of day faded as dusk embraced New York City, specifically a small Greenwich Village bakery where three friends chatted casually about their upcoming final exams. A fourth friend jogged through the entrance, sliding his bag off of his shoulder as he sat down.

 

"Hey! Sorry I'm late," Lucas said, smiling at Zay, Farkle and Smackle.

 

His brow furrowed as he looked around for a moment. "The girls didn't make it yet?"

 

"Oh, they're here..." Zay said, barely containing a wide smirk.

 

Farkle rolled his eyes with a smirk of his own.

 

"We were sitting here, studying... well, most of us were. Riley and Maya were mostly whispering, giggling and biting their lips."

 

"Then," Zay continued, "out of nowhere they both yell 'I HAVE TO PEE' and rush to the bathroom."

 

Lucas shrugged. "Well, girls do go to the bathroom together a lot..."

 

"It's a onesie," Smackle added.

 

"And that was 20 minutes ago," Zay grinned.

 

Lucas laughed. "Here's hoping they're out in time for Friday's final."

 

Smackle, a thoughtful look on her face, turned to her boyfriend.

 

"Dearest?"

 

"Yes, my little bunsen burner?" Farkle replied.

 

"Riley and Maya certainly seem to enjoy the sensations they receive from their physical interactions."

 

"Yup. Makes me feel bad for their neighbors," Zay interjected.

 

"Perhaps," Smackle continued, still facing Farkle, "you and I should experiment with some similar activities."

 

The boys raised their heads slowly, eyes wide with shock, except for Farkle, who remained calm and collected.

 

"Interesting. You would feel comfortable progressing our tactile relationship in this way?"

 

Smackle smiled warmly.

 

"Farkle, I love you, and I feel safer and more comfortable with you than I ever have with anyone. I am very interested in exploring that further. Within parameters, of course."

 

"Of course," Farkle replied, seemingly unmoved.

 

"Should... we be here for this?" Lucas whispered, stunned.

 

"Shhh!" Zay replied, a bewildered smile on his face.

 

"Excellent. No time like the present!" Smackle rose, grabbing her books and extending a hand to Farkle.

 

"Agreed." Farkle, his placid demeanor unchanged, wrote something on a piece of paper, folded it, then rose to take his girlfriends hand. The two of them walked to the door, all logic, Farkle slapping his note into Lucas's chest before leaving.

 

"What's it say?" Zay prompted after they'd left.

 

Lucas grinned as he opened it, turning the paper to face Zay, revealing the bold word 'BLOYLALALOO!'

 

As the boys laughed long and loud, Riley and Maya returned to join them.

 

"Hey, Lucas!" Riley smiled. She looked around. "What happened to Smarkle?"

 

"They, uh..." Lucas stifled a laugh, "had to go."

 

"Oh yeah?" Maya raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "To do what, Billy-Bob?"

 

"From the sound of it, the same thing you two were doing in the bathroom," Zay chuckled.

 

The girls' eyes widened, their cheeks flushing.

 

"You mean... peeing?" Riley offered, unconvincingly.

 

"Uh huh... you guys always switch shirts while you're peeing?"

 

Maya looked down to see a flowery purple top on her torso, while Riley was surprised to notice that she was wearing an oddly tight Pink Floyd t-shirt.

 

"Well... how about that?" Riley offered, weakly.

 

A short moment of silence passed.

 

"I guess we should go straighten this out, then," Maya suddenly said, excitedly.

 

"Back in the bathroom, of course!" Riley grinned as she grabbed Maya by the collar and pulled her off the sofa.

 

"This could take awhile, don't wait up!" Maya smirked as they disappeared into the back.

 

(Cue Intro)


	2. Chapter 2

Back in their proper shirts, Riley and Maya sat studying in the bakery when Shawn burst in, excited.

 

"Maya! Guess what I got!"

 

"A motorcycle, but I get to drive it!" Maya guessed, confidently.

 

"Ooo, does it have a sidecar?! I can ride in the sidecar!" Riley squealed.

 

"Your legs are too long for the sidecar. You ride on the back, holding on to me!"

 

"But then who rides in the sidecar?" Riley gasped, turning. "Uncle Shawn can ride in the sidecar!"

 

"SIDECAR DADDY!" Maya yelled.

 

"STOP SAYING SIDECAR!" Shawn shouted, shaking his head. "Not a motorcycle!"

 

The girls pouted.

 

"I got two tickets..." Shawn continued, "... to watch the Sixers beat the Knicks at Madison Square Garden tomorrow night!"

 

Riley's eyes filled with rage, her mouth opening to yell before Maya slapped a hand over it. Shawn cocked his head, confused.

 

"It's ok, sweetie! He didn't mean it! The Knicks rule... the Knicks rule... shh shh shh..." Maya stroked her girlfriends hair soothingly until her anger faded and she fell asleep in her lap. She pointed at her father.

 

"I'm not saving you next time! Make better choices!" She scolded.

 

Shawn laughed lovingly at the scene. "So, whatd'ya say, kiddo? Wanna come with me?"

 

She smiled apologetically. "Thanks, but I've gotta help Mom at the bakery tomorrow night."

 

"Ah, c'mon," Shawn scoffed, unaware of Katy's approach behind him, "What's more important; some quality time with your old man, or--"

 

"Or leaving her mother, your WIFE, to man a busy bakery during the evening rush all ALONE?"

 

Shawn didn't have to turn around to feel the gaze of his wife on the back of his neck. He suddenly straightened up.

 

"Maya, stop trying to weasel out of your responsibilities! You're helping your mother tomorrow night and that's final!"

 

Maya put on a falsely serious face. "Yes, sir!"

 

Shawn was rewarded with a kiss on the cheek as Katy headed back to the counter.

 

"Hey, why don't you take Sleeping Beauty here? It's possible that she might be slightly interested in seeing a Knicks game."

 

Shawn chuckled as Maya shook her girlfriend awake.

 

"QUIT HOGGIN' THE ROCK, CARMELO!" Riley shouted as she startled back to life.

 

"Hey Riley, since Maya's busy do YOU wanna come to the game with me?"

 

Riley rose to her feet, eyes narrow and voice dripping with resentment.

 

"Ha! Like I would ever sit next to a traitorous Sixers fan in the hallowed halls of the Garden," she growled. "NOTHING could make me betray my--"

 

"They're courtside."

 

"Pick me up early so we can get nachos!" she said, her tone unchanged.

 

\-----

 

The next day at school, Maya led the way up the steps to the girls' lockers, Riley trailing behind with a notebook in hand.

 

"Ok, so I've put together a list of Uncle Shawn's favorite things that we can talk about tonight."

 

Maya looked at her, confused, before snatching the notebook.

 

"Let's see: Cory Matthews, me -aww!-" She paused to kiss her girlfriend. "... photography, Cory Matthews, leather jackets, Cory Matthews, cherry bombs..."

 

"Ooh! I should put my dad on there again," Riley said, taking back the book.

 

"And you're doing this crazy thing... why?"

 

Riley shrugged, vulnerability covering her face.

 

"I dunno... I mean, Uncle Shawn and I get along great now, but we never, like... hang out together. And he's my girlfriend’s DAD! What if I'm not cool enough?"

 

Maya looked at Riley with a compassionate smile, hugging her close.

 

"Sweetie, trust me, just be yourself. If his taste in best friends is any indicator, I don't think coolness is a factor."

 

She pulled back to see a comforted smile on her soulmate’s face. Her own grin widened.

 

"Thanks, Peaches... I think?"

 

They giggled and kissed before heading hand and hand into history class, joining their friends as they chatted.

 

"Hey, where's the boy genius? He's never late," Maya questioned.

 

"I'm not sure," Smackle offered, a twinge of worry in her voice. "He did seem a little strange after our experimentation last night."

 

The others prepared to question her further, interrupted by the stumbling entrance of a roughly dressed, disheveled and vacant-eyed Farkle. He made his way to his desk, staring into the distance all the while.

 

Smackle’s concern grew wide on her face. Noticing this, Maya turned to Lucas.

 

"We'll take her, you take him."

 

"On it," Lucas nodded, helping his friend to his seat, Zay kneeling close to join them. Meanwhile, Maya grabbed Smackle’s arm and pulled her to Riley's desk.

 

"Ok, what exactly did you do to that boy?" Maya asked, a mischievous grin threatening to sneak onto her face.

 

"Well," Smackle said, clearly trying to maintain a collected tone, "we kissed... quite a bit, actually, and there was some... slightly more extensive cuddling."

 

"What does that mean?" Riley asked, agog.

 

"Still at the front of the Health book, you horndog," Smackle replied, chastising the brunette. Maya stifled a laugh while Riley blushed.

 

Across the room, Zay snapped his fingers in front of Farkles face, eliciting no reaction from the genius, his eyes wide and mouth hanging open.

 

"Hey, c'mon man! Wake up!" Lucas called, concerned.

 

"Yeah! We need details!" Zay added, earning a withering look from Lucas.

 

"Oh, like you're not curious!"

 

"I've... done things..." Farkle finally said, his voice slow and distant. His friends raised eyebrows at each other.

 

"What... kinda things, buddy?" Lucas asked, cautiously.

 

The young genius turned to them, eyes still wide.

 

"We kissed... for 43.8 minutes! In a ROW!"

 

The boys breathed a small sigh of relief.

 

"Wow, not bad, hot lips," Zay offered, authentically.

 

"Good morning, class, and please don't call anyone hot lips, Mr. Babinaux!"

 

Mr. Matthews' entrance startled Zay to his seat as the class came to order.

 

"Ok, guys! Friday is your history final, so I figured we'd spend this period on review for the test."

 

"Is this your way to get out of writing a lesson plan?" Riley asked her father.

 

"Uh, no! Of course not..." Mr. Matthews replied, "It's my way out of teaching at all! FARKLE TIME, BABY!” He gestured dramatically to the young Minkus. “Get up here and tell 'em what ya know!"

 

Farkle stood, completely spaced out, before the class.

 

"Well... the first topic we covered after the midterm was the war of eighteen... um, of eighteen..."

 

"Twelve, darling!" Smackle prompted.

 

"Oh, hey!" Farkle said, dazed and confused, "Lunchtime already!" Unsteady, he turned and stumbled out of the classroom.

 

"Hey, get back here!" Cory yelled as he ran out after his student. "There's still fifty minutes of class and I've got NOTHIN'!"

 

"Oh my gosh," Smackle looked down, deeply troubled. "Did... did I do that to him?"

 

"If not, then somebody spiked his ear drops this morning," Zay said.

 

Her eyes darted before turning to Riley and Maya.

 

"I have destroyed the greatest mind of our generation with nothing but my feminine wiles!" She said, shocked. She looked at her friends with shame in her eyes.

 

"Is it bad that I'm... sort of proud of that?"

 

The girlfriends responded simultaneously.

 

"Yes," said Riley.

 

"No," said Maya, prompting Riley to glare at her.

 

"Maya, it's wrong to use your sexuality to manipulate other people."

 

As she spoke, the blonde rose and stood next to Riley.

 

"As women, it's our responsibility to transcend our sex-obsessed culture..."

 

Maya, smiling, leaned down and blew gently, sweetly, warmly into her girlfriend’s ear.

 

"... changing the world... with our... braims and..." Riley's eyes became hazy, a dopey smile replacing her ability to speak coherently before she fell out of her chair onto the floor. She looked up, still grinning.

 

"Oh, hi, Peaches," she said, dreamily. "What're we talking about?"

 

Maya smiled to an astonished Smackle.

 

"Try to only use it for good... but don't knock yourself out."

 

\-----

 

“Thank you for coming to Topanga’s,” Maya offered her customers absently, handing them their check, “Please come again.”

 

“But… we didn’t order anything!”

 

Maya sneered. “Don’t blame me for your life choices.”

 

The blonde plopped down on the bakery’s couch as her last two customers stormed out the door, angry. Katy walked over to her.

 

“Ooookay, baby girl… I think next time you’ll be workin’ in the kitchen, away from, you know… anybody.”

 

Maya rubbed her eyes. “Sorry, Mom. I’m just wiped. Customer service isn’t really my bag.”

 

“No kidding,” Katy said, rolling her eyes and taking Maya’s towel. “You got somethin’ else on your mind?”

 

Maya shrugged. “I guess I’m a little worried about Riley. She was really nervous about getting along with Dad at the game.” She checked her phone again. “I just hope the night wasn’t too awkward.”

 

“BOOM! GET THAT MESS OFF YO’ FACE, PHILLAY!”

 

Maya and Katy both jumped as Riley burst into the bakery, covered head to tow in blue and orange, with a giant foam finger on each hand. She was dancing as Shawn came in, sporting a red, white and blue Sixers jersey, laughing behind her.

 

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, New York! You KNOW that those refs were leaking out home court advantage!”

 

Riley turned, a wide, cocky smile on her face, raising a giant foam finger to her ear.

 

“What’s that? I’m sorry, I can’t hear your excuses over the giant LOSER ALARM going off!”

 

So provoked, Shawn snatched the finger off of Riley’s hand and began a play fight with the two spongy weapons. The pair laughed uproariously as the two blondes in the room watched them. Katy joined in the laughter while Maya smiled cautiously.

 

“So… I guess you guys had a good time?”

 

“Well,” Riley said, plopping on the couch, “not as good as Shawn Long!” She pointed back to Shawn, who immediately started laughing again.

 

“Or Spike Lee, if you wanna get technical!” His response made Riley burst into hysterics herself as Shawn leaned on his niece’s shoulder for support as he laughed.

 

Katy and Maya stared, bewildered.

 

“You had to be there,” they offered in unison.

 

Shawn moved over to kiss Katy while Riley did the same to her girlfriend.

 

“Oh, Peaches, we had the BEST time!”

 

“Yeah!” Hollered Shawn from behind the counter, mixing smoothies. “Turns out hanging with Riley is just like hanging with my two best friends, all rolled into one psychotic ball of sports nut.”

 

“Oh, you only had to hold me back from fighting once!”

 

“True, but it was with Jon Stewart!” He laughed as he dropped the name.

 

“Hey, he should’a been wearing blue and orange if he’s courtside, that’s all I’m sayin’!” They laughed again, Riley turning back to Maya.

 

“You were SO RIGHT, Maya! I had nothing to worry about! We get along great!”

 

“Yeah,” Maya said, a smile hung on her face, “I… can tell.” And if Riley noticed the pull in her girlfriend’s voice or the quivering of her smile, she made no indication of it.

 

“Here’s your smoothie, kiddo!”

 

The use of the nickname caused Maya to turn instantly, just in time to see her father handing a drink to her girlfriend, not her. Shawn flashed his daughter a smile as he turned back to Katy, one that she struggled to return.

 

This time, when she turned back to Riley, there was no hiding her concern.

 

“Peaches?” Riley asked, worried, “Is everything ok?”

 

Maya hesitated for a moment, but finally opened her mouth to speak just as another voice boomed into the bakery.

 

“HOW DARE YOU?!”

 

Shawn and Katy had just sat down next to the girls when Cory entered, absolutely scandalized and outraged. He stared at the group.

 

“I turn my back for ONE DAY and you swoop in to try and steal away the most important person in my life?!”

 

Shawn stood, hands raised defensively.

 

“Hey, buddy, it was just a basketball game! I’m not trying to steal Riley away!”

 

Riley, resigned, turned casually as Cory fumed.

 

“He wasn’t talking to y—“

 

“I WASN’T TALKING TO YOU!” Cory confirmed.

 

Riley stood up to face her father as the rest of the group chuckled.

 

“Riley, going to see sports together is MY thing with Shawn!”

 

“Dad, if I wasn’t allowed to do any of your ‘things’ with Uncle Shawn, the only thing we’d be able to do together is join a knitting circle!”

 

Cory looked past her, horrified.

 

“YOU INVITED HER TO KNITTING SUNDAY?!”

 

Shawn and Katy, barely containing their laughter, approached Cory from either side.

 

“Ok, big boy,” Katy soothed, “Why don’t we take you back and get you a nice brownie?”

 

“… I want a cookie,” Cory pouted, following them to the counter.

 

Riley shook her head, sitting back down next to her girlfriend, oblivious to the girl’s distress.

 

“God, do you believe him? Getting so jealous just because I went to a basketball game with Uncle Shawn! Crazy, right?”

 

Maya faked as authentic a laugh as she could, her smile dropping to a frown the instant Riley turned back to her smoothie.

 

“Yeah… crazy…”


	3. Chapter 3

Farkle sat in his room, his eyes still vacant, trying desperately to read the history textbook in front of him. Lucas and Zay sat to his side, tossing a model of Jupiter back and forth.

 

“Any luck, buddy?” Lucas asked.

 

Farkle responded by slamming his head into his book.

 

“Nothing! I still can’t focus on anything except… except…”

 

“Your 43.8 minutes of ecstasy?” Zay finished his sentence.

 

Farkle looked at them wide eyed.

 

“You have no idea!”

 

Lucas chuckled. “Well, we have SOME idea…”

 

Zay shrugged. “Not as much as we’d LIKE, of course…”

 

Lucas swatted him.

 

“Listen, Farkle, this is totally normal. Once you start, y’know… getting close with girls, it’s hard to think about anything else.”

 

“But I HAVE to think about anything else! Our history final is tomorrow and any time I try to remember a date or historical figure, all I can think about is the way Smackle’s lips taste like prescription toothpaste, or the way she snorts when I nibble on her…”

 

“OK, HEY, y’know what? Turns out I don’t want details, ever, please.” Zay held his hands up for emphasis.

 

Lucas thought for a moment, his hand at his mouth, before snapping his fingers. He moved for the textbook.

 

“Wait, ok… Farkle, all you can think about is Smackle, right?”

 

“Her hair feels like wet pasta…”

 

The other guys shuddered in unison.

 

“Uh, so… all we need to do is figure out a way to connect Smackle to the things that you have to study. Like, ok, were you and Smackle French kissing?”

 

“Oh, when our mouths—“

 

“Yes or no, Romeo.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Ok, so…” Lucas flipped feverishly through the book, “when you think about that, think about the FRENCH trade embargo by Britain that led to…”

 

“The… War of 1812! Oh my gosh, it worked!” Farkle exclaimed excitedly, Zay and Lucas high-fiving him.

 

“Awesome! Now all we have to do is find connections between every topic on our test and your make out session with Smackle!”

 

Zay stood for a moment, then walked over to the window, trying to open it.

 

“How high up are we? I just wanna make sure there’s no chance I’ll survive.”

 

Lucas laughed, pulling his friend back into the room and shoving his book into his arms.

 

It was going to be a long night.

 

\-----

 

As the evening wore on, Maya and Riley sat in Topanga’s bakery, diligently studying for the next day’s exam.

 

Well, ONE of them was. The other was nuzzling her nose into her girlfriend’s neck.

 

“Riley, cut it out,” Maya ordered, perhaps a little too sharply, “I’m trying to study.”

 

Riley pulled back, frowning.

 

“Yes, I noticed that, and even my feminine wiles can’t distract you. Is there… something wrong with my wiles?”

 

The pouting question was meant to be cute.

 

Maya wasn’t in the mood for cute.

 

“You’re wiles are fine, Riley, but I need you to keep them in your pants while I’m trying to get my work done.”

 

Riley’s pout morphed into a genuine frown. She realized that they weren’t playing around. She grabbed Maya by the shoulders and turned her to look at her.

 

“Ok, Peaches, what is going on? You’ve been acting weird all day. Is something the matter?” She arched her eyebrows and stared into her girlfriend’s endless blue eyes. “Whatever it is, I want to help!”

 

Maya tried to maintain her steely demeanor, but the eyes staring back at her had a way of cooling her temper. She offered the most sincere smile she’d managed all day, sighing.

 

“I… I’m sorry, sweetie. I think I’m just stressed about the test. I just need to get through tomorrow.” She smiled softly as Riley’s shoulders relaxed. “Hey, let’s just veg all day Saturday! Movies, junk food, a girlfriend recharge day!”

 

“Oh, that sounds amazing, Peaches! The only thing I have on Saturday is the Knicks game with Uncle Shawn, but before that we can—“

 

“Wait…” Maya’s face turned cold again, “you’re going to _another_ game together?”

 

Her frosty tone caught Riley off guard.

 

“Um, yeah, he… he got two more tickets for this weekend. I told you that, didn’t I?”

 

Maya’s eyes grew wide, and all of the feelings she’d been pushing down for the past day would no longer be held back.

 

“No, Riley, you didn’t tell me. You didn’t tell me that you were going out on another father-daughter date with _MY_ DAD! You… God, Matthews, it’s not enough that you already have the perfect family? As soon as I do too you’ve gotta swoop in and take that away from me? Well fine, you guys go have fun wearing foam fingers and laughing about Spike Lee and just being best pals!” She bolted up, grabbing her bag and storming out of the bakery, leaving a shocked and confused girlfriend in her wake.

 

She poked her head back in.

 

“And the Knicks SUCK!”

 

Riley gasped, clutching her chest as if she’d been punched. In an instant, her assailant was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

Maya sat curled up on her bed, the soft glow of the bunny sign pulsing every few seconds. She didn’t have any other lights on.

 

A knock at her door prompted no response, and so a few seconds later Shawn entered cautiously into the room.

 

“How we doin’ in here, kiddo?”

 

Maya raised her eyes.

 

“Riley called you, didn’t she?”

 

Shawn shrugged as he walked in, turning on the light and moving closer to the bed.

 

“I think you freaked her out a bit… are you still mad?”

 

Maya took a moment, rolled her eyes and sighed as she lowered her legs.

 

“More embarrassed than anything.”

 

“Wanna talk about it?”

 

She stared at her father. He’d only been in her life for a few precious years, but it was already a concrete fact in her mind…

 

She could always, always, talk to him about anything.

 

“It’s just… UGGGH, it’s so stupid!”

 

Shawn hopped up on the bed, sitting next to his daughter.

 

“I’ve got some experience in the stupid feelings department.”

 

Maya chuckled at that.

 

“I guess… it didn’t feel good, seeing you and Riley all buddy-buddy after the game last night.”

 

Shawn nodded.

 

“Yeah, I kinda figured that might be it. Maya…”

 

She turned to look at him.

 

“I am so sorry if I made you feel—“

 

“No,” she interrupted, “that’s why it’s stupid! You _should_ be close with Riley, she’s practically your niece, and I _want_ you to be close to my girlfriend! I just… when you guys were laughing and play fighting and stuff…”

 

Instinctively, Shawn put a fatherly arm around his daughter. Just as instinctively, her head fell onto his shoulder.

 

“Y’know, you seem to keep forgetting… I’ve been where you are, Maya. I know what it’s like to trust someone, totally, and have them leave. And I know that after something like that… I love how close you and I are, and I love you so much…” She hugged him tight at that. “… but that kind of trust? It can take a long time to build that again with someone. But Maya…”

 

Shawn pulled back to look into her eyes. She was crying. He smiled a warm smile.

 

“I’ve got the time if you do, kiddo. I’m not goin’ anywhere.”

 

She smiled back, letting out a small, sad laugh. She looked down.

 

“You’re not the first father to say that to me.”

 

Shawn’s face wilted in compassion, stirring into an earnest, true gaze as he put his hand on his daughter’s face and guided her to look at him.

 

“But I’m going to be the last.”

 

She smiled again, this time wider and stronger. The smile had relief and trust holding it up, and her father matched it, pulling them together for a hug.

 

\-----

 

The piercing bell rang through the halls of Abigail Adams High School, heralding the end of another history class for our heroes. Riley rushed out of the room, taking a seat on the bench in the hallway and reading as the others filed out more slowly. Farkle strode out proudly, Lucas and Zay following.

 

“So, Casanova? How’d you do?” Lucas asked.

 

“I aced it, no doubt in my mind,” Farkle replied, his full confidence back. He put his hands on the shoulders of his smiling friends.

 

“Thanks, guys. I couldn’t have done it without your help in bringing my brain back.”

 

“Well, I think some of it might have hitched onto mine, because I felt like I rocked that test, too!” Zay said, surprised.

 

“Yeah, same!” Lucas echoed. “I guess helping _you_ study helped _us_ study.” Farkle smiled at them.

 

“I’m not surprised. It’s like you said last night, Lucas; all you need to do to learn something is to connect the material to something you care about… and Zay Babineaux and Lucas Friar care more about helping their friends than anything.”

 

The guys, truly touched, smiled at each other, the three embracing in a hug. Zay and Lucas walked off as Smackle approached her boyfriend.

 

“Darling, I am so glad that your magnificent brain is back at full capacity!”

 

“It’s a relief to me too, my love.”

 

“I must confess, I’m very conflicted about how much my actions affected your reasoning abilities.”

 

Farkle looked at her with genuine concern.

 

“Isadora, we can stop the… experimentation we’ve been doing if you want to…”

 

“No, I would very much like to continue exploring our physical relationship. I’ll just make sure to take copious notes on how our comingling affects you mentally, so as to properly coordinate your behavior.”

 

Farkle, his jaw slack and his eyes glazed, shook his head to regain his senses.

 

“Uh, sorry… I only heard the first part…”

 

Smackle opened a small notebook and jotted something down.

 

“What’re you writing?”

 

She smiled and pinched his cheek.

 

“Nothin’, sweetpea.”

 

The two of them walked hand in hand to their next class, waving at Riley as they passed. At that moment, Maya emerged from the classroom, moving toward her girlfriend as soon as she spotted her.

 

“Riles, I—“

 

The brunette turned pointedly away from Maya, raising her head in an animated indication of ignoring her.

 

Maya nodded and sat next to her on the bench, prompting a more exaggerated turn away, accompanied by a huff.

 

“Ok, I deserve that. Honey, I am so sorry for blowing up at you. I’m glad you get along with my dad, really! It’s just…”

 

She sighed, resting her arms on her knees.

 

“This whole 'dating your best friend' thing can be complicated. You've got the love stuff, but you also have the best friend stuff, and... and I've been really jealous of you during our friendship, Riles. I wanted everything that you had, and now that I have everything I've ever wanted... it can feel fragile sometimes, and I guess it dredged some of that jealously up. But honey, I love you and I love our friendship and our relationship and I never want you to doubt that. I am so sorry for saying I don't trust you. I trust you more than anyone in the world."

 

Riley didn’t move.

 

Maya smiled, rolling her eyes.

 

"And I'm sorry I badmouthed the Knicks."

 

Instantly, Riley turned and grabbed Maya in a giant hug, smiling wide.

 

"PEACHES!!!"

 

They laughed together, kissing over and over.

 

"I'm sorry I took all my stuff out on you."

 

Riley pulled back to look her soulmate in the eyes.

 

"Maya, we're forever. It's OUR stuff, and I'm always here to work through it with you, even if that means getting yelled at."

 

Maya smiled at her, astonished, grateful and wildly in love. Her smile turned into a smirk as her eyes narrowed.

 

"Wanna go mix up our shirts in the bathroom?"

 

Riley nodded enthusiastically as they ran to the bathroom giggling, hand in hand.

 

(Paper Airplane Transition)


	5. Chapter 5

Shawn Hunter sat in the stands at Madison Square Garden, proudly wearing his team’s colors, yelling down to the players on the court. As he finished a tirade he noticed that the two previously empty seats next to him were filled again.

 

“Girls! You wouldn’t believe what happened while you were in the bathroom! Noah fouled on…”

 

His sentence trailed off as he noticed that Riley and Maya were no longer wearing the shirts they’d entered the stadium in. They were both staring directly at him, eyes wide with guilt, hair and makeup frazzled.

 

“Ummmm…”

 

“NOTHING HAPPENED!” Riley yelled.

 

“ _YOU_ WERE MAKING OUT!” Maya protested.

 

Shawn held a breath for a moment, looking at them sideways, before shrugging and turning back to the game.

 

“Eh, at least you’re wearing the right pants.”

 

The girls smiled, sighing in relief. Riley turned back to the game while Maya leaned over and kissed Shawn on the cheek.

 

“Thanks, dad.”

 

(Michael Jacobs Music)

**Author's Note:**

> Hope this one was fun! I had this idea rolling around in my head for a while, but it was tough to snap the pieces together. Lemme know if it worked!
> 
> Comments and reviews are the only things keeping the Hellmouth sealed.


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